You know, I have three chapters started for Chapter 42 but I haven't been able to finish even one. Then I remembered this one little idea I had to counter my changing of Nemesis. I hope you like it.
September 1, 1999
The third planet in the Sol system floated serenely in the ever-increasing vastness of the blacker-than-pitch cosmos. Two inter-stellar ships drifted in orbit, both completely unlike the other. One was the Prometheus, a Goa'uld Hatak that had been captured by Lieutenant Colonel Harry Potter of SG-1. The other was the Galileo, first ship ever created by the Tauri. Neither ship understood exactly what was happening far below on the planet's surface in northern Alaska.
The top secret hangar of the Copernicus, second of the Galileo Class Warship, resided just outside Fairbanks, Alaska. The contractors there had been working on the ship for over a year. A crew had been chosen and the ship would launch in less than a month, further increasing the power of the United State's Space Fleet. The facility was in lock down, construction was complete and no one doubted the secretiveness of the project. Unknown to them, however, security had already been compromised. A small team of men armed with rifles entered the Copernicus without anyone being the wiser.
Within the hour of the team's infiltration the Copernicus's engines activated and the ship lifted off and immediately set course for Russia.
Alarms went off across the country, in the White House, in Area 51, Stargate Command, the list went on. The infiltration team, however, was content in celebrating their victory. The Russian military would pay handsomely (and had already agreed to) for the warship and with the Galileo and Prometheus on the opposite side of the planet, there was nothing that the US could do to stop them now.
There was nothing the US could do.
High up in the heavens inside the Ancient Spy Satellite orbiting Jupiter, screens lit up. A message was sent hundreds of light years away to the awaiting Einherjar, signaling the launch of the Copernicus.
Einherjar
Cheers erupted throughout the room as the fourth tower was taken for Sammy's Shock Troops. The final round of the Desert Warfare Competition was in progress with B Company, Sammy's Shock Troops, fighting against C Company, Mark's Messrs. The tides had just turned in B Company's favor with four of six towers under their control. They were quickly moving to assault the remaining two towers, leaving only minimal defenses at the four under their control. It was both a bold and risky move but it could end the game with the Shock Troops as the undisputed champions. This alone was enough to make them try it.
Marcus's scouts quickly caught on to Sam's movements and the Computer Specialist was already positioning his troops for a counterattack. Instead of trying to defend one of the towers he gathered the extent of his conscious forces at one tower and used it as a staging area to assault the undefended towers Sam had left behind. Of course the counter team would have to break through the assault force. But Marcus had superior numbers at that tower and was on the defensive.
Bets were already being made as to who would win. Harry couldn't resist and bet Larry three hundred dollars that Marcus's Counter Attack would in fact work but that Sam would end up winning the game through attrition. Larry took the bet.
Almost immediately afterwards Harry's radio crackled to life. "Colonel, we've just received a message from a Spy Satellite in the Sol System," Samos, the man in charge of the bridge, reported. "It says that the Copernicus has been launched ahead of schedule and is headed towards Russia." Harry's eyes widened.
"Can you confirm that?" Harry asked desperately. The message was genuine. He turned to his old wingman. "Larry, we've got to go, now."
"What's the problem?" Pixy asked as they both stood up and Harry dragged him out of the room. They headed for the fighter bays.
"Someone's stolen the Copernicus and are taking it to Russia," Harry explained on the fly. "My guess is that they plan on selling it to the Russians. Damn it, we can't let that happen! If a Galileo Class is seen flying over Russia everything's going to go to hell on Earth!" Pixy's own eyes widened halfway through.
"How did they steal the Copernicus!" he asked in shock. "That place was supposed to be in complete lockdown!"
"They must have had someone on the inside," Harry realized as they entered the hangar on the port side of the ship. A large machine took up a large portion of the room near the actual hangar bay doors. "Get to your Silhouette. We'll head to Earth through the Launcher."
"Are you serious?" Larry asked in even deeper shock. "That thing hasn't even been tested yet! We have no idea if the Silhouette can stand up to something like that!"
"We don't have time!" Harry cursed as they both climbed into the respective planes, not even wearing flight suits. Harry started pressing the touch screen in front of him, activating the large machine in the hangar. His cockpit closed down on him as he taxied out and lined himself up. The machine started to move and the hangar doors opened. Two large arms extended, stretching out into space with more than enough room between them to allow the Silhouette to fly through. Harry's plane rose up off the ground and the landing gear retracted. The machine glowed, sending a pulse down the arms before it hit the edge. A swirl of blue appeared just beyond the two arms as a hyperspace window formed.
"Harry, you had better be sure about this," Pixy said slowly as he taxied towards Harry. He didn't receive a response before the Silhouette shot forward and into the window. "God damn," Pixy cursed as he mimicked Harry's move and followed into hyperspace, headed for Earth.
Up above in the recreation room cheers erupted again as the force Marcus had in preparation for counterattack was slaughtered by the combined assault by Sam's forces. Within minutes the Shock Troops had captured the remaining towers and were the first ever champions of the Inter-Stellar Desert Warfare Competition.
Earth
A hyperspace window opened and two objects shot out like bullets. Both objects banked to the right and headed towards the planet, specifically the northern Pacific Ocean. Before space radar could even detect their presence they had entered the atmosphere and were descending towards the planet's surface.
"Pixy, we'll be coming in really fast," Harry said over the radio. "As soon as we come out of low orbit I want you to slam on the brakes and pull up hard."
"I hear that!" Seconds later the two planes burst from the upper atmosphere. Both pilots pulled back hard on the stick in an attempt to avoid imminent collision with the Pacific Ocean. Slowly Larry's plane pulled out of its nosedive and leveled out. Harry's plane, however, continued straight down. "Harry, you're gonna pull up, right?"
"I'm trying!" Harry screamed back. Ever so slowly he started to level out. It was, he realized, too little too late. In less than three seconds he would slam into the water a few degrees off level flight. "Damn it!" He pressed a button on his flight stick. Pixy stared in shock as a missile shot forward from Harry's Silhouette and exploded just above the water, creating a two dozen foot indent in the water's surface. Harry's plane dropped underneath sea level before the nose pointed up. Harry slammed his throttle all the way up and disappeared into the clouds just as the water returned to its natural place.
Pixy drifted into a level path alongside his flight lead at the respectable speed of Mach One. "Harry, you have got to promise me never to do something like that again! I'm supposed to be the Ace!" Harry snorted ungracefully. Only Pixy would use a joke like that to cover up someone else's near death experience. "I've got the Copernicus's IFF on radar. Do you see it?"
"Yeah, I've got it," Harry confirmed. "It's three hundred miles away. Let's get to it." The two super-fighters banked off and shot towards the escaping Copernicus.
"Damn, I'll never get over how huge those things are!" Pixy cried as the other object came into view. The flying warship was about twice the size of a Nimitz Class Carrier. The Ace glanced down at his radar. "Hold up, I've got two more contacts that shouldn't be there. They're fighters."
"Are they US?" Harry asked as the Copernicus quickly grew larger.
"They don't recognize in the data banks but I recognize the design," Pixy responded. He looked up and stared out the window. "There's no doubt about it now. Those are Russian Fighters. They're Su-37 Terminators, the most advanced fighter they've got." Without warning two missiles flew from the Russian planes, headed straight for them. Pixy cracked a smile. "Now it's nice and even. Cipher, there's one for you and one for me." He fired two missiles as he spoke. The four weapons slammed into each other, resulting in a large explosion.
"We don't have time to waste on them," Harry stated. "Down yours quickly and head for the Copernicus. We've got to stop them from getting that ship to the mainland." Pixy nodded mutely as they prepared for combat.
Harry fired a missile at high speed as he merged with the other flight leader. He pulled up and rolled over the Russian, immediately noticing his missile had been evaded. Cipher turned and grunted as he came about. To his shock the enemy plane had mirrored his move and was directly in front of him for a brief second before shooting past. Gasping Harry reversed again and tried to lock on with a missile. His efforts proved to be futile when the Russian reversed again.
"Harry, these aren't normal planes," Pixy muttered as he dueled with his own enemy. "They're super-fighters. I recognize the technology!" Even as he spoke he was forced to turn away when a stream of tracers shot by him. Harry cursed and instinctively turned to help his wingman. He realized his mistake a half second too late when the Russian latched onto his tail. Harry weaved in and out in an attempt to throw off his pursuer. Cursing he throttled down and pulled back hard on the stick. The Silhouette pulled up and started to completely flip in midair. This move would force the Russian to overshoot and put him right in Harry's gun sights.
The Russian pulled up into a Cobra as soon as he saw Harry's maneuver. Despite outstanding aerobatics the Russian was still behind Harry. Said Ace cursed violently, completely inverted facing down. He throttled up unpredictably and dived down into a cloud bank. Harry made sure to move only inside the cloud. Otherwise the Russian would simply latch onto him again and the battle would continue. After only a few moments Harry banked hard right and the Terminator appeared in his radar sights. Without hesitation Harry fired four missiles at the skilled enemy pilot. His escape into the cloud had put the Silhouette directly behind the Terminator within only a few hundred feet. The Russian never stood a chance.
He couldn't help but feel regret as he saw the plane crash into the ocean in flames. Such skill was such a waste, especially for such a cause. His guilt lessened when he saw a parachute behind him. Harry scanned the skies for a few moments before he found Pixy and the other Terminator high up in the clouds, still fighting. He knew that he didn't have time to help his wingman now and shot off in the direction of the Copernicus.
Triple-A started to fire up at him from the multiple CIWS Turrets on top of the ship. Harry masterfully dodged and weaved throughout the constant fire before dipping down slightly and coming into level flight just in front of the open port side hangar bay. He slowed down carefully until he was actually inside the ship itself. He lowered his landing gear and felt them hit the floor. Now inside the ship completely, Harry opened the cockpit door and jumped out. A few seconds between when he jumped and when he landed he realized that the only weapon he had on him was pistol with a few spare clips. He shrugged it off and pulled out his personal G23. A laser sight was fitted to the bottom of the barrel, meaning that he'd technically customized it.
He flicked the safety off and moved towards the doors. Just before he reached them the doors opened revealing two Caucasian men holding Ak-47s. They didn't realize they were dead until Harry moved past their bleeding bodies. He peeked around the corner before moving down the familiar corridors towards the bridge. The command center was only one deck up on the top of five decks.
Outside in the clouds an explosion rippled as Pixy shot the second Russian Terminator down. He sighed and glanced at his radar, noting that Harry was nowhere in the area and discerning that it had already landed on the Copernicus to start retaking the ship. He would have joined him had another radar return not caught his eye. Four MFX-01 Raiders were in bound, likely in pursuit of the wayward warship.
"Damn, if they make it to the Copernicus they'll be shot down without a doubt!" Pixy said to himself. Steeling his resolve the Ace turned to face the US Planes. Closing his eyes and saying a silent prayer he pressed the missile launch button. A Sniper missile shot forward towards the Tomcat Look-alikes. Pixy opened his eyes and stared at the other planes. "Come on, come on, come on, miss!" he said to himself over and over. He whooped when the Raider rolled over and dived, releasing two flares. The missile exploded upon them harmlessly.
Pixy rolled over and followed the lead Raider down as the other three flew overhead. The American banked right, still headed down. Pixy followed and switched to guns. He lined the pipper on his HUD up with the precision of a sniper. Bullets arced out and tore into the tail of the other plane. The pilot immediately ejected eliciting another whoop from the Ace. Missile warnings went off mid-cheer, forcing Pixy to break away. The missile was avoided easily but one of the three remaining Raiders latched onto his tail immediately. The American pilot was close behind him, giving Larry and idea. He pulled up into a Cobra maneuver, half-hoping that the other pilot would overshoot. He didn't and followed Pixy into a Cobra of his own.
The Ace smirked as he adjusted the thrust vectoring on his plane to the point where he was parallel to the ground, facing the Raider only a dozen feet away. Bullets shot out of his plane and tore the Raider's tail to shreds. That pilot also ejected much to Pixy's satisfaction. Granted, his Silhouette started to spin towards the ground but he easily mended this and was soon flying back up into the cloud.
Bullets arced over his cockpit from the side during his climb. Pixy cursed and increased his speed. A Raider shot out of the sun, coming at him dead on. His eyes widened as he tried to roll away. Unknown to him and the enemy, Pixy's right wing scraped ever so slightly over the Raider's tailfin, specifically through the insignia of its squadron.
Even if he did notice Pixy wouldn't have cared. Instead he pulled back around and targeted the two super-fighters. Instantly two missiles fired from beneath the Silhouette's wings and covered the distance within seconds. Two explosions rippled just above the target's tails, ripping them off and igniting some renegade fuel for the afterburners. As soon as he confirmed the two pilots safety Pixy jetted off towards the Copernicus as it rapidly approached the land.
Harry cursed violently as several bullets passed by him. The insurgents had taken a defensive base in the bridge. If he had a grenade it would have been perfect. However, the enemy had AK-47s and all he had was a measly pistol.
His radio crackled to life. "Harry, where are you?" Pixy asked over the radio.
"I'm just outside the bridge, port entrance," Harry responded quietly before poking his arm around the corner and firing two shots, just to keep the enemy on their toes.
"I'm outside the starboard entrance," Pixy responded. "They don't see me yet. What do you think?"
"Right, pincer on three," Harry responded. "Now!" The two pilots moved rapidly and Harry dived out into the entrance. Pistol bullets fired from behind the insurgents, dropping three of the ten and confusing the remaining seven. Harry stood quickly and fired his weapon one after the other. He smiled as he dispatched the last insurgent if only for a moment. A muzzle flash erupted from the man's AK-47. A bullet ripped into his right arm. Harry gasped in pain and collapsed onto the ground.
"Harry," Pixy breathed and rushed over to his friend, superior and wingman. Harry waved him off.
"I'm alright," He said, apply pressure to the wound. "Come on, we've got to stop this ting now." He stood carefully under Pixy's watchful eye and moved over to the flight controls of the ship. Letting go of his arm carefully he typed in a command. Slowly the Copernicus came to a stop and hovered over the water. "Alright, the Americans are on their way with more than just fighters this time. We should get out of here before they notice us." Pixy nodded and the two headed for the hangars once again.
"Colonel, how are we going to get back to the Einherjar?" Pixy wondered as he climbed into his Silhouette.
"We'll wait for them at the Spy Satellite," Harry responded as he started up his craft.
"I don't wanna wait for an hour!" Pixy whined.
"Get over it," Harry sighed. "We just stopped World War Three."
(End Chapter)
I'm sorry that this took so long to get out. I'm finally back in school again, starting my first year as a freshman. So far I've been pretty bored but I don't sleep very well at night so when I get home I don't feel up to writing. Honestly I get about four hours of sleep per night, six if I'm lucky. It's been the same for about two and half weeks. Therefore I'm not quite sure when the next chapter will be up. I plan on moving into the actual war next time so be sure to review to motivate me off my lazy ass. Later,
Atrum.